


Nightly

by OvalNephrite



Category: Log Horizon
Genre: Apparently they're called Raynesia and Krusty too??, F/M, I will fix this horrible crime, Krusty/Raynesia, This is my favorite ship from Log Horizon and there is not a SINGLE FANFICTION OF IT, so uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 12:03:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8577847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OvalNephrite/pseuds/OvalNephrite
Summary: It's a habit he just can't let go.





	

What on earth was he doing?

 

Silence was Crusty’s answer, leaving him to answer for himself as he leisurely walked down the street, face tightened with thought. First of all, he was no longer on Earth. He was in the universe Elder Tale had provided for him and, to be more specific, a street of Akihabara. A street suspiciously close to Water Maple Mansion, where a certain princess resided.

 

Even if he hadn’t been the one to escort her there in the first place, he would have known, seeing as he confirmed it. Every single night.

 

The mental confession caused a brief slip in his step, but he made no noise while recovering. He wasn’t wearing any armor, after all. It was far too loud in the peaceful night which he was navigating through. Instead, he wore simple clothing - A tunic and trousers with no shoes. Akihabara was not a dangerous place, and yet he kept a smaller weapon equipped to his belt. Just in case.

 

That was why he checked on her, he concluded. Just in case.

 

Just like every night, he circled silently once around the fence before vaulting over. Misa would have scoffed if she saw how quiet a Berserker could be. Misa would scoff at most of his actions during these nightly checks, like his next step.

 

At first, climbing the side of the mansion had been extremely difficult. He was no Assassin. It would be easy in a dungeon, though. Crusty went through such a plan in his mind - Bury the longer blade side of his axe into the wall and use the momentum of the slam to propel himself upwards. That was simple enough for a Berserker. However, that would horribly botch his list of goals for these nightly rounds.

 

One, do not be seen.

 

Two, do not be heard.

 

Three, check on his- The princess.

 

Four, leave no trace behind.

 

And so, Crusty was forced to travel the path of patience. It took three hours and two close calls to figure out that his armor would not be any help in this scenario, hence later trips lacking shoes, and 30 more minutes to solidify his footing well enough to identify a sturdy tree branch close to the princess’ window.

 

The embarrassing first attempts flashed through Crusty’s mind as he made his way through a now-familiar routine of climbing, a wry smile forming on his lips. He never stayed up at his post for long - only long enough to determine whether the princess was indeed sound asleep in bed, completely safe, as he should already assume and be content with assuming. But he wasn’t, and so he always checked.

 

It was for only a brief moment, as his gaze set upon the noticeably empty bed through the mansion’s window, that Crusty acknowledged how grateful he was for such paranoia.

 

The next few seconds were of blind panic. His body froze up, knuckles stressed and turning white from their strong grip, but shortened nails did not draw blood from his palms. Instead, he did a double, then a triple-take on the empty bed, muscles taut, before scrambling to remember the flimsy plan he had made for himself should this ever happen.

 

It took exactly ten seconds from initial notice for Crusty to act, extending his hands forward to the window and opening it up - Naive princess, never locking it. It was both a worry and comfort. Pushing off of the trusted branch, he hopped into the room with a firm thud of his mass. Moonlight reflected off of his glasses as he quickly tapped them back into their correct position, examining the room. There was no sign of a struggle, no pools of blood, no discarded weapons... but with Lenessia- The princess, there was no knowing if this meant she was safe, or if it meant she was simply too helpless to pose enough struggle to leave such evidence. Either way, it was not enough to comfort him.

 

Removing his dagger - Why did he not store his Axe into his inventory? A mistake chided, but unresolved many times. - from his belt, Crusty stepped silently into the hall and looked both ways.

 

There was only silence.

 

Procedure, he thought firmly. Remember the procedure. And so, he looked over the room one last time, and noted a crucial detail.

 

A dress, draped over a dresser by the princess’ empty bed, had a crimson stain over its abdomen. Crusty felt the blood drain from his face.

 

No longer caring for stealth, he turned sharply and sprinted from the room. If any sort of robber had made his way into the room and wished to carry Lenessia out as quickly as possible, the closest exit for such a package, no matter the strength of the scum, would be the ballroom. It had a servant’s exit in an adjacent kitchen.

 

Crusty gripped the dagger tightly, upper lip curled into a snarl as he took a sharp turn in the ballroom’s direction. He did not bother to try to calm himself. Instead, he imagined the level of the filth he was searching for, and promptly decided that it would play no factor in the speed in which they would be disposed of. Race, stats, level, association - Nothing would make him falter.

 

Except the one thing he would never have expected.

 

As he skid into the ballroom, breathing heavily with lopsided glasses and tousled hair, there was no attacker to be seen, only the supposed damsel in distress.. Wielding a broom.

 

As soon as she had seen him, clad in flannel pajamas with her smooth silver hair tied up in a childish attempt at a bun, she had turned sharply and pointed the end of the broom towards him like some sort of spear. He simply watched, wide eyed and heart pounding, as she recognized him and lowered the broom with red blossoming in her pale cheeks.

 

“C-Crusty! I- Um, I was just-” His princess was stammering now, the deep blush reaching the tips of her ears, before a realization dawned upon her and guided her to look in straight in his bewildered eyes. “What are you doing here?! In- In n-night clothes, no less!”

 

The moment Crusty caught his breath, it was stolen away again with this new development. Lenessia was flushed, but not only from his intrusion- She had been exerting herself somehow.

 

Cleaning? He glanced at the broom in her hands, noting her grip on it, and finally let out a wheezing chuckle. No.

 

She was _training._

 

“W-What’s funny?” It was his princess’ turn to look bewildered as he began to laugh. All of his panic and worry was released in this form- She was training, of all things. The lazy princess, training! Or at least, she was trying to.

 

Wiping away a tear from behind his glasses, Crusty began to walk forward towards the frozen princess. She drew the broom close as he neared, as if shielding it.

 

“Other way around,” he murmured quietly as she did so. Before she could respond, he had stepped behind her, hovering his hands over her taut wrists. His gentle caress was back, guiding the weapon away from her body as if she was a puppet. “You do not protect your weapon. Your weapon protects you.”

 

The blush was back at full force, but Crusty took it in stride, nudging her fingers into a stronger grip and sliding her hands into more suitable balance points for a spear. “A-Ah.. r-right..?” She allowed him to do this, watching and memorizing as best as she could when he was so close behind her. Like in the griffon that brought her to this place, he was trapping her with his body, encasing her in both a cage and shield that was too comforting to protest against.

 

“A spear, right?” She hesitantly nodded at the hushed inquiry and squeaked as her shoulders were moved by his feather-like grip.

 

“Keep your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees. A lady’s posture is no good for combat.”

 

Lenessia might have responded with something indignant, defensive, or both, if it hadn’t been whispered directly into her ear - So close she felt the warm breath and shivered involuntarily. Immediately, Crusty drew back with a worried look. “Are you cold?”

 

Her eyes widened once more, drawing the broom close, only for his hands to keep its current length from her body very firm, which forced her to give a vocal response. “N-No..”

 

“I’m glad- A lazy princess such as yourself is far too sheltered to be exposed to harsh weather,” he immediately responded, his smirk revealing the line’s clear rehearsal. Lenessia opened her mouth to shout, but paused, her gaze darting to the opened door to the ballroom through which Crusty had stormed into. Her anger diffusing, she simply pouted and went back to the stance he just taught her.

 

“H-He says, teaching me how to hold a spear..”

 

“Is that what you wish?”

 

If Lenessia had turned, she might have seen his eyes widen briefly at his blurted question and immediate mental scolding, but she did not. Instead, she stiffened, then nodded.

 

“I’m just a lazy princess. If someone were to attack, I would be useless. All of the adventurers.. They balance it all! They are knowledgeable, elegant, and capable in battle. I said I would fight against the goblin armies, but all I did was let myself be escorted as a- a mascot!” She had meant for a simple response, but words kept pouring out of her mouth with no sign of stopping. Her form slouched, then immediately regained its composure with the revival of her determination. “Like I am now, I’m.. I’m useless. I want to be worthy of the admiration Akihabara grants me.”

 

There was another silence, uncomfortable and thick.

 

“That’s not correct,” Crusty finally responded, nudging up his glasses with his index and middle fingers.

 

Lenessia immediately whipped her head around to face him directly, ready to shout without restraint, but a thumb sealed her lips. A familiar thumb, which she had seen many times, but never felt. It was warm, but it froze her in place - Froze her in direct eye contact with the solemn Berserker who owned it.

 

Placing the rest of his hand against her cheek and faltering silently when she leaned into the touch, he spoke. “There would not have been an army against the Goblin King, had you not rallied Akihabara for your cause. We would not have known of the nobleman’s secrets, had you not revealed them. The People of the Land and Adventurers would  never have come this far without you, princess. So please, don’t show yourself in such a dim light. You are worthy of the twilight which you bare the name of and far more.”

 

The next silence between them was far warmer, brought by two pairs of eyes that clearly gave away the words that their voices could not- Not this night, not here.

 

An eternity later, Crusty drew his hand away with a barely audible clear of his throat. Lenessia turned away to do the same. Their complexions had both turned slightly redder than before.

 

“..W-Will you come again tomorrow night? To teach.”

 

“..Yes, of course.”

 

He lifted her hand with his, smiling warmly. Lenessia let out a quiet sigh, knowing this process well. A feint to watch her squirm, eventually leading to the normal handsha-

 

She felt his lips against her knuckles and the world seemed to stop.

 

It was brief, only a moment, but she would have given anything for it to have lasted longer. She almost turned and told him so, but he was already at the door. From his knowing smirk, she knew that once again, he had read her thoughts, and blushed madly when he nodded as if to agree and confirm that yes, it would happen again. But not yet.

 

Hearing his heavy footsteps fade away, Lenessia clenched her hand over her heart with a wheeze, supported only by the broom as she felt her knees buckle.

 

At the window he had entered from, Crusty let out a shuddering sigh. Lenessia was safe.. When had he started to call her that? When had he finally accepted that she was not just another princess, another Person of the Land?

 

It was very simple, really, but they would not let the thought be entertained.

 

Not yet.


End file.
